The Fall of the House of Eaton
by Soulyou
Summary: Nathaniel disappears and the only person who knows what happened to him is Katherine. Unfortunately she has gone mad. Follow the trail of a certain Harold P. Lovecraft as he investigates these strange happenings. The story is now finished.
1. The Horror Begins

_Authors Note: This story is written in a rather macabre fashion.I did so in an attempt to bring up emotion. It is purely an artistic touch to add character to the story. For those who areeasily upset; I advise you toleave now._

"True, I was nervous very, very dreadfully nervous. I had been and am; but why _do_ you say that I am mad? The disease has sharpened my senses, not destroyed, and not dulled them. Above all, my sense of hearing has grown more powerful. I hear all things in the heavens and in the earth. I hear many things in hell. How, then, am I mad?"1 Kit snarled and fidgeted as she looked up at the young man staring at her.

"Widow Eaton, I need to talk to you considering your husband's disappearance and the matter of Good Wife Cruff's death... What happened?" The man stared at her with narrowed eyes.

"All happened as I said it did... The witch took him away with her..." Her bloodshot eyes twitched in annoyance. "When will I be free of this accursed cell? I can't stand it any longer... the bricks taunt me with their thoughts, and the birds chirp gaily at me in mock kindness! I hate this place!"

"Dear woman, if you are referring to the ship, its ashes are still floating in the harbor..." He shook his head and sighed.

"No. You don't understand... It was Cruff!" Kit spat on the ground with a snarl. Her greasy, flea-ridden hair hung in front of her face as she continued her rant. "The daemon's here at night frighten me! They reach through the bars of this place and grab at me..."

"What happened, Kit? Damn you! What happened to you?" He shook his head and rushed from the small room, slamming the cell door behind him. Kit wailed in the small hut, ranting at the large rats that she believed were crawling on her.

"Any luck, William?" Matthew Wood walked toward the young man who stared at him sadly. He flinched slightly as he heard a pitifully loud scream from the hut.

"Not a thing, Matthew. She's gone stark mad I tell you." He sighed and turned his head to the cell again, where Kit's loud screams continued as they had been for countless nights. "Matthew stop worrying about her. You're as pale as a ghost. I have already sent for a man who might be able to help her. He goes by the name of David de la Poer 2." He looked at the man intently, shaking his head as Kit continued her blaring wails again after a brief rest.

"I pray to God that this Poer will come soon. I don't know how much longer Katherine can last." He turned an odd glance towards the hut. The two began to walk up the dirt road towards the village.

**Notes:**

1This is a direct quote from Edgar Allan Poe's "The Tell Tale Heart"

2de la poer is the Celtic Nordic family line that Poe descended from. It is quite possible that a member of that blood line was in America at this time.


	2. The Arrival of Mr Lovecraft

It was a dark moonless night in Wethersfield. Lightning flashed throughout as I galloped into the small town. It was small and nothing in the least like Saybrook. The buildings were shaped crudely and quickly. I shook my head as I knocked on the door of one of the houses. A brown haired cripple answered the door; she looked at me oddly and smiled. I flinched as she did.

"Hello. Is this Wood's household?" She nodded and I ignored her for a second, my eyes studying the inside of the house, noticing its smallness. Inside two men and a woman were seated, obviously discussing something. "Oh, excellent. I was called for by a certain William Ashby." The cripple's eyes lit up and she led me inside, chattering excitedly.

"Father, the man William sent for is here!" The cripple beamed happily and went about introducing me to everyone. After the pleasantries had been exchanged Mr. Wood turned to me and raised his brow slightly.

"Well, that's all of us. Who exactly are you?" He said this with such power for a farmer that I laughed slightly; perhaps he read it as an insult for he frowned suddenly and gave me a glare that was rather frightful.

"Excuse me, sir, I can't believe I forgot. My name is Harold P. Lovecraft 1 I was sent by my mentor Dr. de la Poer to handle this case. He's currently off in London on business." I smiled good naturedly and returned his gaze. The answer must have been good enough for the man for he lessened his frown and shook my hand.

"When do you start?" His eyes pierced through me like a sharp sword.

"In the morning, sir. First could you please tell me what happened to the girl?" He nodded and motioned to one of the chairs by the fire. I sat down in one and he took the other.

**Notes:**

1 Harold P. Lovecraft is an alteration of the name Howard Phillips Lovecraft, A noted writer who Idolized Poe's style of writing.


	3. The Madness of Katherine

"It started about six months ago. Katherine had married a rather rash man name Nathaniel Eaton. Everything was fine and we heard little of them until they returned to Wethers Field a few months later. The ship docked and Katherine and Nat stayed on board for a while. They weren't doing very good business wise; Nathaniel had a lot of debts. Well, lately strange things have been happening. People disappear suddenly and for no reason. Livestock is found mutilated after full moons. Things of that sort.

"Nat wasn't one to stand for old wives tales as he put it, so he went out to try and figure out what was going on. Kit followed him into the forest. Only Kit came back and that was after a few days. When we found her she was naked in the field, jabbering on and on about devils and witches and such.

"We kept her here as best we could, but she attacked Mercy when she was sleeping, screaming about how she had murdered some Sparrow fellow. After that, some men from the town built a small hut for her where the old Tupper house once was.

"She was fine for about six or seven days, but then she disappeared again. We didn't see anything of her for a week or so and then the worse thing imaginable happened. We heard a loud scream from the Cruff house and of course we ran over to investigate. We found Kit, dressed in rags with the dead body of Goodwife Cruff in her arms. She broke the woman's neck! It was despicable, there was blood all over the floor and Mr.Cruff was knocked out cold.

"Poor Prudence was shivering in the closet crying when we found her. I've never seen such fear in a child's eyes. She said some odd thing about Kit climbing through the top of the window like a savage and killing Good Wife Cruff before biting at her neck and sucking at her hungrily.

"After that, we turned the house into a prison cell. The constable didn't want her imprisoned anywhere near his house after what happened to Cruff. So we sealed her in the small hut. It's the best thing we can do and she hasn't escaped since." Matthew shivered as he finished this and I stood, dumbfounded.

"Dear God…" I looked at the fireplace, horrified and suddenly very cold, despite the warmth of the flame. Somewhere in the forest a wolf howled long and sorrowful. I slept little that night as I ran the story over in my head. I decided that I must send for Dr. de la Poer immediately. He would just be returning to Saybrook when he would get it. Yes. That is what I would do.


	4. The Willow Tree

_Author's Note: Here is the fourth chapter in the story. It has been quite some time sense I uploaded anything and looking back on this story I now see it was far from spectacular, no matter. I shall post the rest of it as is. _

I awoke early and hired a boy from the village to send the letter for me. After a brief walk to clear my head I returned to the Wood's household to depart for the hut. As he led me to the small house Matthew Wood turned to me and peered slightly.

"Let me warn you that she is unpredictable. Katherine will seem perfectly sane one moment and the next she will be cawing loudly, believing herself to be a Raven." He shook his head and sighed, handing me a small skeleton key. "This is the lock to the cell." I took the key as we approached the small house and even from a far distance I could hear loud wails and mutterings.

Matthew stayed behind me as I approached the building Kit was isolated in. It was hastily made of wood and mud stacked on top of one another. The roof was just straw and mud. I opened the door and stepped inside. The place was remarkably clean for the condition Katherine was in.

"Hello, Katherine, my name is Harold P. Lovecraft. I have come to talk to you." Kit sat in a chair, rocking back and forth slowly.

"I already know why you came here. You want to know about my husband's death. I had no part in it at all. I am innocent. It's all that Goodwife Cruff's fault. She killed him I tell you! I had nothing to do with it. They are just jealous that I can hear better than they can..." She began to mutter wildly again, then she stopped looking at me with wide eyes and an odd grin.

"My Sparrows told me you were coming." She grinned again and pointed to a small patch of feathers and blood in a corner. "They are ever so nice to me; you see they bring me food like the ravens brought Elijah bread." She smiled widely and I noticed that she had what seemed to be raw meat and feathers stuck between her teeth. I gagged and looked at her, horrified. Gathering myself quickly I forced myself to look her in the eye.

"Why did you murder Goodwife Cruff?" I looked at her intensely; she was quiet for a moment as if processing what she had just heard. Suddenly and without warning, she lunged at me, grabbing my throat, sneering as she did.

"Who told you? It was my business! Mine alone! Not yours! Never!" I was amazed at her strength; it was uncannily strong. I forced her off me with a quick kick, sending her into a corner of the room. I shook my head and left the room, locking it behind me.

"Matthew, she is mad I say! Mad!" I shook my head and looked at him. "Tell me; in what direction did they set out that night?" He nodded and pointed me towards the path. I got some supplies and set out walking. The sun was setting on the second day when I smelled it. A foul stench, worse than any I had ever smelled before in my life. I followed it and what I found disgusted me.

There in the clearing I found a rotting corpse hanging from a large willow tree. The grass was stained red beneath it. The body had obviously once been that of a man, though it was hard to tell due to the state of decomposer. A large maggot occasionally crawled forth from the corpse's mouth, only to crawl back in through its nose a moment later. I shook my head and turned away from the tree, leaving the accursed place with great alacrity.


	5. Conclusions

_Author's Note: Well here is the final chapter. Looking back at this I think I could have posted the entire story as a solitary episode instead of splitting it up as I have. Without further ado I humbly submit this for your enjoyment._

When I returned to the village, I saw a large plume of smoke rising from near the swamp. I ran towards it and saw one of the most grotesque scenes of my life. A large mob had gathered around the hut. They had in their hands torches and were building a large fire around it. I reached the scene as the fire was being lit.

"What is going on here? Stop it this instant! Can you now see this woman is sick?" I tried to get towards the door, but a large man threw me backwards and blocked my path. He grunted down at me and snickered.

"The witch is getting what was coming to her. I knew it was too good to be true. No one from an island like that could be God fearing." He turned and rejoined the mob. I sighed and sat back knowing it was helpless; I caught sight of the cripple as she limped towards the house.

"Stop this! She's not a witch! She's innocent. It's not her fault. Please stop! I beg of you…" Tears streamed down her eyes as she continued her limp. A man from the mob turned on her, striking her across the head.

"Shut your trap you, damned girl." He struck her again and looked away, not seeming to care. I heard one last whimper and then silence. I turned and the cripple lay still, not moving. Her lifeless face a mixture of blood and tears.

The mob surrounded the house and kept throwing down their torches. As the fire consumed the house, I saw that Kit had gotten on the roof top somehow. As the blaze surrounded her she began to laugh merrily.

"Today, I join my dear Nat in paradise. I leave this world happy!" Her eyes brightened as the roof collapsed under her weight, sending her into the fiery depths of the house below, she burned a surprisingly long while, laughing the entire time.

In the aftermath of the fires, the sailor responsible for the cripple's 4 murder was hanged. My job was finished, and I left quickly, not wanting to get in the way of the family's grieving.

And so it is I am now writing these events down in my diary, I wonder though about many conditions of this case. Dr. de la Poer was quite stern with me and gave me quite a scolding, muttering something about vampires before leaving me to write.

I do fear the man had an awful fright in London; he was staying with a colleague of his, a certain Dr. Abraham Van Helsing. He will tell me nothing of what went on during his stay say for a few details of little significance. One can only wonder. Now I must depart, for the hour grows late and already fatigue has begun to consume me.


End file.
